Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information Picturing Death in Classical Athens This is the first in-depth study of the pictures found on Attic white lekythoi. These funerary vases, placed in and on Athenian graves, have long been appreciated for their beautiful polychrome images that evoke the style of lost classical wall and mural paintings. The most important visual source for classical Greek funerary customs, they exhibit a range of subject matter, most of it connected with death. This richly illustrated volume closely examines the four major types of scenes: do- mestic pictures, the mythological conductors of the soul, the prothesis (wake), and visits to the grave. In addition to an analysis of the iconographical development of each type, it places these pictures intheir historical, social, cultural, archaeological, and literary contexts, documenting relationships between the “rites of passage,” Athenian history, the changing perceptions of death in fifth-century Athens, and funerary epigrams and laments. John H. Oakley is Chancellor Professor and Forrest D. Murden, Jr., Professor and Chair of the Department of Classical Studies at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. A scholar of Greek painting, he is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Phiale Painter and The Achilles Painter.Heis the recipient of fellowships from the Alexander von Humbolt Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN CLASSICAL ART AND ICONOGRAPHY SERIES EDITOR H. A. Shapiro, The Johns Hopkins University ADVISORY BOARD William Childs, Princeton University Roger Ling, University of Manchester Sarah Morris, University of California, Los Angeles RobinOsborne, Cambridge University Olga Palagia, University of Athens Jerome Pollitt, Yale University Cambridge Studies in Classical Art and Iconography is a program of scholarly mono- graphs that best represent the rapid and profound changes in the scholarship of one of the oldest and most respected disciplines in the humanities. A major goal of this series is to understand ancient art not merely as aesthetic objects, but as part of an intrinsic visual language of a distant culture. Books in this series will, typically, be devoted to studies of a single artist, stylistic issues, or iconography of a particular theme ina specific period. Interpretive inthe broadest sense, these works will also provide a link between art history and other related fields in the study of classical antiquity, including history, philosophy, and religion. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information PICTURING DEATH IN CLASSICAL ATHENS 3 THE EVIDENCE OFTHE WHITE LEKYTHOI John H. Oakley The College of William and Mary © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 2ru, uk 40 West 20th Street, New York, ny 10011-4211, usa 477 WilliamstownRoad, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon´ 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © JohnH. Oakley 2004 This book is incopyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the writtenpermissionof Cambridge University Press. First published 2004 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typefaces Bembo 11/13.5 pt. and Lithos System LATEX 2ε [tb] A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Oakley, JohnHoward, 1949– Picturing death in classical Athens : the evidence of the white lekythoi / John H. Oakley. p. cm. – (Cambridge studies in classical art and iconography) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-521-82016-2 1. Lecythi. 2. Vase-painting, Greek – Greece – Athens – Themes, motives. 3. Athens (Greece) – Funeral customs and rites. i. Title. ii. Series. nk4650.l5o34 2004 738.38209385–dc21 2003040904 isbn 0 521 82016 2 hardback © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information 3 FOR ANNA SHAW BENJAMIN AND MARY B. MOORE © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information 3 Contents List of Illustrations page xi Abbreviations xix Foreword xxiii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 DOMESTIC SCENES 19 3THEPROTHESIS 76 4 MYTH AND MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES 88 5 SCENES AT THE GRAVE 145 6 PUTTING THE PICTURES INTO CONTEXT 215 Notes 233 Bibliography 255 General Index 261 Index of Greek Vase-Painters 267 ix © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information 3 List Of Illustrations PLATES I–VIII (APPEAR BETWEEN PAGES 124 AND 125) Ia Two womenpreparingto visit the grave, Attic white lekythos attributed to Near the Timokrates Painter, ca. 460 b.c. Ib Two womenmusicians,Attic white lekythos by the Timokrates Painter, ca. 470–460 b.c. IIa–b Prothesis, Attic white lekythos by the Sabouroff Painter, ca. 450 b.c. IIIa Nike, Attic white lekythos by the Carlsruhe Painter, ca. 460 b.c. IIIb Amazon, Attic white lekythos by the Klugmann¨ Painter, ca. 440–430 b.c. IVa Atalanta Lekythos. Painted white-ground terra-cotta, attributed to Douris, Greek, Athenian, 500–490 b.c. IVb Hermes escorting a woman to Charon, Attic white lekythos by the Thanatos Painter, ca. 440 b.c. Va–b Hypnos and Thanatos with a warrior’s body at the grave, Attic white lekythos by the Thanatos Painter, ca. 440 b.c. VIa Aeneas and Anchises, Attic white lekythos by the Brygos Painter, ca. 490–480 b.c. VIb Visit to the grave, Attic white lekythos by the Sabouroff Painter, ca. 440 b.c. VIIa–b Visit to the grave, Attic white lekythos by the Vouni Painter, ca. 460 b.c. VIIIa–b Visit to the grave, Attic white lekythos by the Achilles Painter, ca. 440–435 b.c. xi © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information Figures 1a Deianeira-shaped black-figure lekythos page 5 1b Black-figure shoulder lekythos by the Amasis Painter 5 1c Red-figure cylindrical lekythos by the Tithonos Painter 5 1d Red-figure squat lekythos by the KleophonPainter 5 2 X-ray of anAttic white lekythos by the Sabouroff Painter showing the interior container 7 3 Seated womanmakinga wreath. Attic white lekythos by the Painter of Athens 1826, ca. 460 b.c. 23 4 Woman balancing a stick. Attic white lekythos by the Lupoli Painter, ca. 450 b.c. 23 5 Womanstuffinga pillow with wool. Attic white lekythos by the Panor Brygos Painter, ca. 470 b.c. 24 6 Womanabout to place a folded cloth intoa woodenchest. Attic white lekythos attributed to Near the Providence Painter, ca. 460 b.c. 25 7 Womanseated onrock holdinga fillet. Attic white lekythos by the Sabouroff Painter, ca. 450 b.c. 26 8 Womanadjustingher chitonbefore a hydria atop a base. Attic white lekythos by the Klugmann¨ Painter, ca. 440–430 b.c. 26 9 Warrior. Attic white lekythos, ca. 450 b.c. 31 10 Youth inThraciangarb by a stele. Attic white lekythos, ca. 460–450 b.c. 31 11 Horseman. Attic white lekythos by the Reed Painter, ca. 420–410 b.c. 31 12 Seated man. Attic white lekythos attributed to the Manner of the Providence Painter, ca. 460 b.c. 32 13 Two women preparing a funerary basket. Attic white lekythos by the Timokrates Painter, ca. 470–460 b.c. 33 14 Womananda maid with a child onher shoulders. Attic white lekythos by the Timokrates Painter, ca. 460 b.c. 44 15 Two womenby a kalathos. Attic white lekythos by the Timokrates Painter, ca. 470–460 b.c. 45 16 Two women, the seated one making a wreath. Attic white lekythos by the Painter of Athens 1826, ca. 460 b.c. 46 17 Woman reading to another woman. Attic white lekythos by the Painter of Athens 1826, ca. 460 b.c. 46 18 Two womenwith a crane. Attic white lekythos attributed to the Circle of the Villa Giulia Painter, ca. 460 b.c. 47 19 Mistress and maid. Attic white lekythos attributed to Probably by the NikonPainter, ca. 460 b.c. 47 20 Two womenwith armor. Attic white lekythos by the Achilles Painter, ca. 460–450 b.c. 48 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xii © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521820162 - Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekythoi John H. Oakley Frontmatter More information 21 Two womenwith a baby boy. Attic white lekythos by the Achilles Painter, ca. 460–450 b.c. 48 22 Two womenpreparingto visit a grave. Attic white lekythos by the Achilles Painter, ca. 460–450 b.c. 49 23 Two womendressing.Attic white lekythos by the Achilles Painter, ca. 445–435 b.c. 49 24–25 Two women. Attic white lekythos by the Achilles Painter, ca. 445–440 b.c. 50–1 26–27 Two womenmusicians.Attic white lekythos by the Achilles Painter, ca.